INTRODUCTION

Making Your First Feature Film, For Reel – Sure, plenty of people go broke putting together a film that ends up looking as amateurish as you feel. This doesn't have to happen. Learn how to spend as little money as possible and put together your directorial début with funding and support from industry professionals. This notoriously difficult to penetrate career choice doesn't have to be impossible. Follow these rules and steps to success to make a reel film that doesn't suck.

If you've watched, studied and loved film for years, perhaps you would make a good director. It's easy to get the bug, but how to actually make it happen?

The ability to see a story in pictures and manage people is a must, but so is the ability to see the project through from one end to the other. There's hard work and long hours ahead, but if your goal is to have a finished project you can be proud to show around, you can do it, just as so many before you have. It's important to realize that just because it's not easy, doesn't mean that it can't be a fun and truly rewarding experience that you'll either talk about for years to come or actually set you off on a new career.

This book will show you how to go from your unrealized dream of being a director. We'll start of by showing you how to doing all the planning that will help this film project go off without a hitch and avoid some of the more common pitfalls that commonly plague first-time directors. Next, you'll get a look at the production itself, from how to keep your crew happy and productive to directing actors into giving the performance you've imagined. Lastly, your vision will truly come alive in the post-production process – this book will give you hints and tips for making the most of the footage you have.

More importantly, perhaps, this book will show you how to actually make enough money or notoriety that will allow you to make a second film, preferably with someone else's money.